Robbers and Romance
by zac'sgirl27
Summary: This is the sequel to Ring of Revenge. Troy and Gabriella are finally getting married, but what if suddenly an unhappy damper comes to their newly started life? It's another exciting and dangerous adventure for the Wildcat star and freaky math girl.
1. Chapter 1

_May 30__th_

_Boston, Massachusetts_

**Gabriella's POV**

_It all comes down to this. This is what you've waited your whole life for. It feels like just yesterday I was a high school student who had fallen in love with a basketball star. Never did I see this coming. It's just too good to be true. I'm finally marrying the man of my dreams. _

_So, why do I have this weird feeling inside? A feeling as if something bad is going to happen. I know Troy's the one, but there's something that just doesn't seem right. Maybe it's not Troy at all; maybe I'm just excited, and overreacting. Yeah, that's probably it. _

"GABRIELLA!"

Gabriella was pushed her strange thoughts out of her head, and quickly jumped up out of bed. It was a bright summer's day, with the sun shining the birds were singing, and to top it all off, she was getting married, to her high school sweetheart, and her love, Troy Bolton. It seemed as though life couldn't get any better.

"GABRIELLA MONTEZ GET DOWN HERE RIGHT NOW!" yelled a frustrated Gina Montez, Gabriella's mother.

Gabriella slipped on her robe and slippers and ran down the curvy stairs. Her mother was standing in the kitchen hands on hips. Gabriella just smiled at her.

"Good morning dear mother." She said while kissing her on the cheek.

"Don't you try to butter me up. You should have been up an hour ago. You're getting married today and you seem to not care at all." Gina said, with a small smile curling at the corner of her mouth.

"Mother, mother, please I don't need that right now. I was absolutely exhausted. You've been pushing me in all sorts of directions for the past month. I wanted to get at least a little sleep before my wedding." Gabriella said with a warm voice.

Gina smiled. "I know, and I'm sorry. It's just hard to see my little girl finally grow up." She said in a teary voice.

Gabriella hugged her mother tight. "Don't worry mom, you'll see me plenty. I'll make sure of it."

Mother and daughter smiled at each other, and busily started making some breakfast. While Gabriella was eating some cereal, contemplating what it will be like being the wife of a CIA agent, she heard the front door open and close softly. A smile curled onto her lips. There was only one person who tried so hard to come in unnoticed, but always failed to do so.

Gabriella slipped around the kitchen and hid behind the door. She tried to contain herself from laughing as she heard quiet, but firm, footsteps walk into the kitchen. When she saw the back of someone, she took her chance, and jumped out from her hiding place.

"BOO!" she shouted. The muscular body of Troy Bolton jumped as high as the countertop and turned around to see who it was. Gabriella immediately started laughing and giggling at his shocked face. But Troy recovered quickly and within one small swift move, Troy had Gabriella hanging over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes, begging for mercy.

"Troy, please….giggle…….let me……giggle….down….laugh….."

Troy smiled into her waist, and carefully put her down, but kept her snug in his arms.

"Well Mrs. almost Bolton, what did I do to deserve that?" He said with a voice full of teasing.

"Oh, I don't know, just a little pay back from all those times you scared me during high school." She said smiling, remembering the good times.

"Well, if that's how it is, I guess I'm just going to have to get you back again." Troy said, pulling her closer.

"And what's your plan of attack, Agent Bolton?" Gabriella said, in a softer voice.

Troy leaned his head down a little. "Oh, I think I have an idea in mind." He said even quieter.

"How about you tell me your little secret?" she said, taking in the sweet smell of his breath.

Troy smiled a crooked smile. "I think I can arrange that." He said, and with that he pressed his mouth to hers and kissed her ever so gently, yet with passion. He pulled away a minute later to look into her eyes.

"I think I can handle that kind of punishment." Gabriella said, breathing slightly heavier with a small smile creeping onto her lips.

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The music started. The beautiful bride started taking the long awaited walk down the isle. Her white dress was simple, but elegant. Her dark gorgeous hair was falling around her face in pretty little ringlets. And her whole self just seemed to glow as if she was an angel from heaven.

Gabriella looked up and Troy and smiled. She truly was going to be happy. The entire ceremony seemed pointless until their "I do's", because she was lost in those striking blue eyes that belonged to the man in front of her.

Before she knew it, they were kissing, and everyone was cheering. They ran out, holding hands, to the limo that was waiting for them to take them to the hotel they would stay in tonight. They had to attend the reception before they could go on any honeymoon. Tomorrow they would leave for Hawaii.

Once in the car, and away from the noise, Troy just took Gabriella in his arms and buried his face in her fruity smelling hair, and started to cry.

Gabriella, feeling somewhat alarmed pushed him forward and took his face in her hands.

"What's the matter?" she said full of worry. Troy sniffed, and smiled a teary smile.

"I'm just can't believe we're finally married. After all that we've been through, we're finally married." He said in a matter of a fact voice.

Gabriella leaned up and kissed him quickly. "I can't believe it either, but aren't I supposed to be the one that cries." She said teasing.

Troy chuckled, and wrapped his arms tighter around her waist and just kissed her. In no time at all, the car stopped in front of the hotel. Troy helped Gabriella out, and they checked in. Once they were in the room, Gabriella quickly went into the bathroom and changed. Wedding dresses are nice, but very uncomfortable after a while. And if she was going to have to stay in it tonight, she wanted as much time out of it as possible.

20 minutes later, when she came out of the bathroom, she found Troy, still in part of his tux, sprawled out on the big, inviting bed.

Gabriella tip toed over and leaned down to peck him on the lips. Troy opened his eyes and opened his arms. Gabriella gladly slipped into them.

Troy rolled on top of her and kissed her good and hard. When his mouth was free, he would whisper her name.

He pulled back slightly, and stared into her chocolate brown eyes.

"I love you Mrs. Bolton."

"I love you _Mr_. Bolton."

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The reception hall seemed absolutely gorgeous. There were candles lit, music playing, and people everywhere. Everything seemed to be just perfect, until around 8:00 pm.

"Geez, I don't think I can smile anymore, my mouth hurts." Gabriella said massaging her mouth.

Troy laughed and kissed the top of her head.

"Don't worry princess, it's almost done."

Gabriella looked around, and seeing that no one else was in the line at the moment, she decided she needed to go to the ladies room.

"I'll be back soon, I need to slip into the ladies room." She told Troy, kissing him of the cheek.

"Okay, but hurry back. People will start coming again."

Gabriella nodded, and walked to the bathroom on the right side of the room. She slipped in and turned on the light. She slumped into a chair and sat there. Then, that strange feeling came back into the pit of her throat. She felt as though someone was watching her. Gabriella looked up to see herself in the mirror, and screamed at the top of her lungs. Eric Thompson was behind her, a gun pointed at her head.

Gabriella's scream made Troy run at top speed toward where she had gone. Tyler, Alex and Sam, who just happened to be at the reception, jumped up as well and ran toward Troy.

Troy, trying to get past startled people, could see Gabriella being pulled by a man in the opposite direction. Gabriella was absolutely terrified.

"Troy! Troy, help me! TROY!" she yelled. This made Troy move faster, pushing and shoving, but not succeeding.

Once he reached the door, there was no sign of them. Alex, Tyler and Sam were behind him, panting.

"Troy, what happened?" Tyler asked.

Troy just stood in bewilderment. "My wife was just kidnapped."

**(a/n: okey dokey, there's that chapter. I'm really excited for this story. I've done a lot of research, and I hope I can do even better on the next chapter. I've already got the next chapter outlined, and I should have it up soon. Probably by Tuesday, it should be up. Please read and review, and tell me what you think.)**


	2. Chapter 2

Troy looked around frantically, helplessly, wishing there was something he could do. Alex, Tyler and Sam were conversing, looking for something that might lead them in the direction of Gabriella. Troy seemed to be oblivious to it all. He couldn't believe the fact that he had been a husband for all of 6 hours, and his wife had already been kidnapped. And he had no idea where she might be.

Troy's troubled thoughts were interrupted by Sam yelling over to him.

"HEY TROY! WAKE UP AND COME OVER HERE!" Troy quickly stood up and walked over to the huddled threesome.

"Troy, check this out." Sam said in an amused voice.

To Troy's utter surprise, and _gratitude_, there was a corner of torn off a piece of paper lying on the ground. Even more surprising was the address that was written on it, and even better, it said "Bring her here" on it.

Troy looked up in disbelief, and stared at the other three. Then, strangely enough, he started laughing. Sam, Alex, and Tyler looking at him, completely bewildered.

"Troy, there's a good possibility that Gabriella is here." Tyler said, apprehensively.

Troy laughed a little longer, than answered the shocked looks in front of him.

"I just can't believe this is happening. It's like as if this were a birthday party scavenger hunt. All you need is a map to the treasure." Troy explained.

Troy looked around for his car, and started walking to it. Alex, Tyler and Sam followed.

"At least this time it will be easier to find her." Troy said optimistically.

They all exchanged smirked and climbed inside Troy's car.

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"LET ME GO YOU DEVIL!" Gabriella screamed at Eric Thompson as he carried her out of the car. He just grinned.

"Not until your inside, my sweet." Eric said with a sly smile. Gabriella's insides cringed when he said the last part slower.

Gabriella continued to struggle until they were inside. When she stepped inside, she immediately felt a horrible feeling come over her. The room was dark and dreary. When she had been outside, the building had looked like an old metal factory. It didn't look any better inside. The walls looked old and rusted. There were old and run down pieces of metal of all shapes and sizes everywhere. All she could see that didn't look rusty and old was one wood chair, with a spot light on it. _This is so like the movies._ She thought to herself.

"Keep moving, and sit there, and sit still or I'll tie you up. But there won't be any need for that, no will there, my angel?" Eric said in a chilling voice.

Gabriella flinched once again at his reference to her as his angel._ Oh Troy, where are you?_ She sat down slowly on the chair, and stared at Eric.

"The boss won't be here for another few minutes. So why don't we catch up a little, huh?" he said.

"Well, I guess I might start by why you never came back from Europe?" Gabriella shot at him.

"Oh that, well, let's say I got a little delayed with some business." Eric said with sarcasm in his voice.

"It seems as though you didn't really miss me, taking a look at that ring on your finger." Eric continued. Gabriella glanced at her wedding ring, and smiled a little.

"Yes, it would seem I found someone that cares about me." Gabriella said lightly.

Eric scowled at her remark. Gabriella just smiled innocently.

All of the sudden a door banged open, causing Gabriella to jump. She gasped as a big, over muscular man walked, followed by a much smaller man in an expensive black suit, and dark glasses. He had dark brown hair, at least from what Gabriella could see. He was fairly filled out, but slightly thinner than the athletic build of Eric. His voice was unnerving when he spoke to her.

"So this is the girl. I didn't think you were expecting us, I thought you would have dressed a little more casual." The man said, referring to her wedding gown. Gabriella glowered at him.

"May I ask who I am speaking to, and why I am here?" she said coolly.

"Oh, where are my manners. Of course, my name is Jasper Casmir. And you are here because I have a few little questions for you." Casmir said with wicked smile.

"Let me get straight to the point, we would like to know if you have knowledge referring to a certain ruby cave anywhere?" Casmir continued.

Gabriella stared blankly at him. "I have no idea what your talking about." She said honestly.

Casmir stared at her, no satisfied. "Well how about I just fill you in a little on what we're looking for. Maybe it will jog your memory a little."

"About 50 years ago, there was a man named Matthew Caine. He was a jewel discoverer. At about 1957 he discovered one of the most highly valuable caves in all of history. It was the world's only ruby cave. Caine, being the man he was, wouldn't tell anyone but his closest companions, the exact location of the cave. He thought it was best that such a beautiful thing was kept safe."

Casmir cleared his throat. "It just so happens to be that the only person he told was a man he trusted and respected, Carson Montez."

Gabriella's eyes widened. It couldn't be possible? Her father? He had never told her about anything like that, nor her mother. And now she was being held hostage because they thought she might know.

"We figured because he so happens to be _your_ father, and you are _his_ daughter, that he would have told his only child." Casmir said with ease.

Gabriella looked at him panicky. "I have no clue as to where it is. He never told me anything like that. I can promise you that." She said as boldly as she could.

Casmir laughed at her. "Come, come now Miss Montez. There's no reason for you not to tell me, I'm just your friendly neighborhood kind of a guy. Now, I'll give you one more chance, where is the cave?"

"I told you, I don't know." Gabriella said flatly.

Casmir rolled his eyes. He nodded toward the large man next to him. He pulled out a large double barrel gun and pointed it at Gabriella.

"Are you absolutely sure about that?" Casmir asked as if it were child's play.

Gabriella gasped. She was going to die. And she had only been married for 7 glorious hours. She wished she could have seen Troy one more time. To tell him how much she loved him, and that she did it only out of pure honesty. She gulped hard.

"I don't know where the cave is." She said slowly.

Casmir shook his head in supposed sorrow. "Ah, that's disappointing. I wish I didn't have to do this." He nodded his head once more toward the big man, and turned and walked out of the room. Eric followed him.

Gabriella closed her eyes, waiting for the shot. The shot came, but it wasn't from in front of her. It had come from behind and had shot past her. She opened her eyes to the large man lying on the floor. She whipped around to see where it had come from.

"TROY!" She stood up and ran into his arms. Troy smothered her in kisses. Her nose, eyes, cheeks, neck, lips, ears, and her lips again. Gabriella clung to him tightly, not believing what had just happened.

"Troy, I can't believe it's really you. I thought I was going to die on my own wedding day." Gabriella said, crying.

Troy smoothed her hair and kissed her full on the lips again. He pulled back and held her face in his hands and looked her straight in the eyes.

"As long as I'm alive, nothing can happen to you." Troy said simply, but with a warm voice.

"I love you Troy." Gabriella wrapped her hands around his neck tighter and just clung to him, taking in his heavenly scent of cologne.

"I love you too. But how about we get out of here and get back to the hotel. I think we've both had a trying day." Troy said with a small chuckle.

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On the drive back to the hotel, they sat in silence, lost in their own thoughts. But when Troy could take it no longer, he broke the silence.

"Gabriella, did you by chance figure out what they wanted you for?" Troy asked nervously.

Gabriella sighed. "Yeah, I did. And you won't believe me when I tell you." She said hesitantly.

Troy reached over and took her hand in his and squeezed it.

"I'm all ears."

Gabriella stared out the window, thinking of where to start.

"Well, to get to the real point, my dad knew the location of the world's only ruby cave. They thought that he would have told me where it was. I had no idea where it might be. My father never told me anything about such a thing."

Gabriella stopped, letting Troy absorb everything she had just said. When he had, he nodded his head for her to continue.

"That about sums it up. These men seem to want to know where it is. I can only imagine that they are jewel thieves. I can only hope that they never find it. If my father hadn't even told me where it was, it must certainly be made to be kept safe, always." Gabriella said, thinking of what her father might have thought at the time.

Troy looked over at her. "Gabriella, you never cease to amaze me. When I think I've seen all sides of you, you turn around and surprise me again. You just showed such wisdom and strength, I don't know why you need me." Troy said, full of love in his voice.

Gabriella smiled. "I'll always need you. I always have and always will."

Troy smiled as they pulled up in front of the big hotel. They stepped out and walked in. Once they were in their room, Troy stepped into the bathroom and Gabriella buried through her dress to take off her shoes. When she stepped into the bedroom, the sight before her made her scream.

When Troy heard her scream, he dashed out of the bathroom.

"Gabriella, what's the matter?"

**(a/n: well there's that chapter. How do you guys like this story so far? Please tell me what you think. I'm still open for ideas. Thanks)**


	3. Chapter 3

**RECAP **

When she stepped into the bedroom, the sight before her made her scream.

When Troy heard her scream, he dashed out of the bathroom.

"Gabriella, what's the matter?"

**END RECAP**

The sight before Troy absolutely stunned him. The room was absolute disarray. Their clothes were strung across the room, the bed was torn apart, and the furniture was thrown everywhere. It looked as though a hurricane had gone through their room.

Troy looked over at Gabriella, to see tears coming down her face. He gathered her in his arms and just held her close. Gabriella looked up at him, with an angry look on her face.

"Why do they have to do this? Why oh why?" she said fiercely

"I couldn't tell you princess, but whatever this is all about, it's more serious than I thought. Now, I suggest that we clean this up, just so the people won't start talking." Troy said smiling at his humor.

Over the space of the next hour they cleaned everything, as well as check to see if anything had been taken. To their surprise, nothing had been taken. When they were finished, Gabriella changed, and collapsed on top of the bed. Troy was in the other room on the phone, so Gabriella had some thinking time.

As she lay there thinking of all that had happened to her today, her thoughts fell on her father. Why had he not told her about any of this? Did he just never get around to it? Maybe he had forgotten? Whatever it was, she wished he was here to help her. Then her mind fell on Jasper Casmir, and how evil he really was. Just thinking of him made Gabriella fume. Then, as if a lightening bolt had hit, the realization hit her. She needed to do something about all this. Her father had kept it secret for a reason, and she felt she needed to do everything in her power to do just that. She was going to find that cave first.

Troy walked in the room, closing his cell phone. He walked over to the bed and sat next the Gabriella, and sighed.

"Troy, I have to tell you something." Gabriella said. Troy looked over at her.

"Sure, go ahead princess."

Gabriella took in a deep breath. "Well, I've come to a conclusion. I feel that I need to do something about all this mess. I think we need to find that cave before Casmir does. My father kept it a secret for a reason, and I feel, being his only child, that I need to do that for him. And, I'm sorry to say this, but there's nothing you can do to change my mind." Gabriella said in a firm voice.

A grin started to spread on Troy's face. Then he started to laugh. Gabriella was shocked at this.

"Troy Bolton, don't you laugh at me!" Troy just wrapped his arms around her.

"No, no, it's not like that. It just amazes me how alike we are. I just got off the phone with my boss at the CIA. I felt that action needed to be taken on this. It has gotten way to out of hand. I'm glad I wasn't the only one feeling it." Troy said, smiling down at her.

Gabriella smiled as well and hugged him tighter.

"How did I get so lucky to be married to a guy like you?" she said to him.

Troy chuckled. "I could say the same for myself." Then he kissed her like he never had before.

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Then next morning while Gabriella was in the shower, Troy was sitting in a chair, contemplating what they should do next. When Gabriella came out in her bathrobe, Troy smiled and opened his arms to her. She smiled back, and walked over and sat on his lap.

"Well you look beautiful princess." Troy said kissing her cheek.

Gabriella giggled. "Oh, I know, my bathrobe is just so flattering."

Troy faced suddenly turned more serious. "Gabriella, what would you say we went to New Mexico?"

Gabriella looked at him closely. "Sure, but why may I ask?"

"Well, to get right to the point, I thought that we could search through your dad's old things. Maybe we could find some information we might need. It's always a smart to start with the source."

Gabriella thought over this concept and turned to look at him.

"When do we leave captain?" she said saluting him. Troy laughed out loud and hugger her tighter to him.

"I'll call and make the next flight to New Mexico."

"But how in the world are we going to pay for this?" Gabriella asked hurriedly.

Troy waved it off. "The agency pays for it all. That's the joy of working with the CIA, they pay for everything." Troy smiled.

Gabriella glowered at him, but smiled anyways. Then she moved off his lap and quickly got dressed and started packing. Troy called the airport and booked a flight for them. He also called his mother, Janna, telling her that they would be coming and needed a ride from the airport. She was delighted they were coming, and immediately agreed.

About an hour later they were walking on to a nonstop flight to Albuquerque, New Mexico. Through the course of the flight, they talked about how long it had been since they had been to their hometown. They laughed over old memories, and cried over hard times.

Three hours later, they were walking into the Albuquerque Airport. Troy breathed in deeply, taking in the rich smell that surrounded them.

"It's good to be home." He said taking Gabriella's hand, and her bag in the other.

They walked outside, and found his mother and father standing there. They were both smiling when they saw the young couple.

Hugs and kisses were issued all around, and Gabriella and Janna sat talking in the car, while Troy and his dad, Jack, went to get the rest of their luggage.

Twenty minutes later, they were at Troy's childhood home putting their stuff in the guestroom upstairs.

Troy walked over to the window, while Gabriella going through her things.

"Wow." Troy whispered, staring at his backyard. It had been so long since he had been here. It felt like a lifetime.

Gabriella walked slowly over to him. She looked up at him. His eyes seemed to be in another world.

"Hey, is anybody in there?" Gabriella said softly. Troy shook his head and looked down at her. He smiled and wrapped an arm around her waist.

"It's good to be home."

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The sun was shining brightly the next morning as Troy and Gabriella walked over to _her _childhood home.

Gabriella smiled as she remembered all the times she and Troy had walked down this sidewalk.

When they got there, Gabriella rang to doorbell. The door opened, but quicker than it normally would. Gabriella's mother was smiling wide when she saw them.

"I saw you coming up the road. What in the world are you two doing here?" Gina Montez said, hugging both of them.

"We needed to come and look at some of dad's old things." Gabriella said as they walked in the door.

"Well, you're welcome to whatever. But may I ask why you need to?" her mother questioned.

Gabriella, with the help of Troy, explained everything to her. Gina was shocked at what she heard, and was worried for the two of them.

"Don't worry; we'll be perfectly fine mom." Troy said. Gina smiled at him calling her mom.

Gabriella led Troy upstairs to the attic where all of her father's old things were kept. Troy marveled at all the things up here.

"He has a bunch of stacks of paper over there." Gabriella said pointing in the corner. Troy walked over to where she had said and found the papers.

He grabbed a stack, sat on the ground, and started the long and tedious process of going through them.

After about two hours had passed, neither of them had found anything. Gabriella sat on the floor and looked around the old attic. She sighed. _Where are you dad?_ She closed her eyes and concentrated hard, as if she might get some inspiration as to where to look.

When she opened her eyes, they fell on an old table drawer, back behind everything else. She smiled to herself. _Thanks a million dad._ She walked over to it and tried to open it, but it wouldn't budge. Then she noticed it, a key hole. _Great, now what am I going to do?_ She looked around, trying to think of where the key might be. She saw Troy back in the corner, still going through papers. Gabriella smiled. Of course, why wouldn't Troy know how to?

"Troy come here, I found something." Gabriella said. Troy jumped to his feet and walked over to her. He knelt down beside her and examined the drawer.

"Do you think you can get it open?" she asked nervously. Troy smiled.

"Of course I can. I didn't train to be an agent for nothing." He took out a thin case from his jacket and produced a thin small wire. He stuck it in the hole and fiddled for a second. Then there was a soft click. Troy grinned.

"There you go princess." Gabriella smiled like a little girl. She kissed him on the cheek and opened the drawer.

Inside there were some old worn papers with millions of little notes and drawings. There was also a brown book, old and shabby looking. Gabriella took it carefully in her hands.

"It's his old journal. I saw him writing in it once, but he quickly put it away when he saw me. My mother had thought it was lost." Gabriella said sadly.

Troy put his arm around her shoulders. Then he took out the other papers. He looked at them closely. There were a bunch of things on different caves or geographical places, but nothing on the ruby cave.

He looked at a particularly old piece of paper. His eyes widened when he read what was on it.

"Gabriella, look at this." Troy said pointing at the paper. Gabriella leaned in closer and read the page.

It was all about his exploration of the ruby cave with Matthew Caine. It told of what was inside the cave, who had gone with him, and many other things. But it had no map or any indication of where it was located.

"Well, we were close. Maybe you should look through the journal, it might have something." Troy suggested.

Gabriella nodded and picked it up. She looked through the pages until she fell on a certain one. It read:

**June 23, 1999**

**I've made a huge discovery. Gabi's ruby ring is from the ruby cave itself. Someone must have taken a gem from it and made the ring. This worries me. Someone else knows the way to the cave. I don't know who, but I plan to find out. **

Troy and Gabriella stared at the journal entry. This was a complete shock. Gabriella had never known it at the time, and she certainly didn't know it now. Then something dawned on her.

"This was a month before he died in the car crash. I was eight." Gabriella said. "I wonder if he ever made any progress on finding the other person."

"I don't know, but we better figure that out too." Troy said, standing up. "Come on, let's take this stuff and go get some lunch." Troy helped her up and they walked down the stairs. As they were turning the corner into the kitchen, Gabriella noticed something out of the corner of her eye.

"Troy, there's someone looking through the window." She said in a whisper. Troy turned to see a man duck away from the window.

"Gabriella, you stay here, call the police, I'll be right back." Troy quietly snuck out the back door and walked around the house. He peaked around the south end of the house to see a man peering through the window. Troy snuck up on him and bashed him over the head. The man fell to the ground. Troy wiped his hands as Gabriella came out.

"Who is he?" she asked worried.

"I don't know, but I bet I can make a good guess. I think we're being followed." Troy said leading Gabriella back into the house.

Ten minutes later the police arrived and took the man. Troy explained what had happened, and told them to contact the CIA when they got information out of him. When the police had left, Troy walked into the living room to find Gabriella sitting on the couch reading a magazine.

"I think we need to go on another little trip." Troy said, breaking the silence.

Gabriella looked up at him. "Where to this time?" she asked.

"McLean, Virginia. CIA Headquarters. I think it's time we did a little more advanced research." Troy said, sitting on the couch next to Gabriella.

"Okay, whatever you think is best." Gabriella said, looking back at her magazine.

Troy stared at her. "Hey, Mrs. Bolton, why don't you please your husband for a moment?" Troy said removing the magazine from her hands and taking her in his arms.

Gabriella smiled. "Mrs. Bolton, I like the sound of that." Troy smiled as he leaned down to kiss her. He kissed her passionately. Her hands went up into his smooth, sandy hair, while his were lost in her silky black hair. After a few minutes, neither of them could go any longer without air. Troy pulled back and breathed deeply.

"Thank you Mrs. Bolton, I'm pleased."

**(a/n: wow, that was a long one. So, how did you like it? How are you liking it so far? Please review, I love hearing your thoughts on it. I'm having the time of my life writing this story. So keep reading.)**


	4. Chapter 4

The plane flight to Virginia wasn't any longer than the last one, but Troy and Gabriella were too busy to notice, as they were looking through the papers they had found.

During the last half an hour of the trip, Troy noticed something on one of the papers. It was a symbol. It was drawing of a shield, with two objects crossing each other. A sword and a key. There was no writing or notes anywhere around the symbol.

"Gabriella, look at this. It seems to be some sort of symbol." Troy said pointing to the figure.

Gabriella looked over at it. "Hmm, that might be a clue to the location. Maybe we can find something on it once we get off the plane."

Troy looked through the other papers, to see if there was some sort of information on the symbol. He didn't get far. The plane was landing and it was time to get off.

Once they were off the plane, Troy rented a car, got there luggage, and they drove straight to the CIA building.

When the building,_ or should I say buildings,_ came within view, Gabriella gasped at how big they were. One was at least thirteen stories high, with millions of little windows. There was a big sign in the front with Central Intelligence Agency written on it.

They got out of the car and Troy held Gabriella's hand as they walked in. Inside there were hundreds of people on computers, talking, and walking around. She recognized the three men walking towards them as Alex, Tyler and Sam.

"Hey you two, what brings you back here?" Sam asked. Troy gave them the Reader's Digest version of the whole ordeal. The situation seemed to catch their interest, so they decided they would tag along.

Troy led them all upstairs and toward an office marked RESEARCH.

Troy opened the door and they walked in. There was only one woman in the room. She had light brown hair going a little past her shoulders, with pretty blue eyes. Her smile would probably win an academy award. Most girls would want to hate her, but the moment she spoke, Gabriella just had to love her.

"Hello boys, it's nice to see you again. Seems like it's been awhile huh?" the woman said shaking their hands. She stopped when she got to Gabriella. Troy took over from there.

"Audrey, this is my wife, Gabriella. Gabriella this is Audrey Wilson. She's the master at all CIA researching." Troy said with a smile. Audrey blushed at the compliment. She held out her hand to Gabriella.

"It's nice to meet you Gabriella. Now, what can I do for you?" Audrey asked in a cheerful voice

Troy pulled out the piece of paper with the symbol drawn on it. "We're wondering if you can find anything on this."

Audrey took the piece of paper and examined the drawing. She walked over to her computer and started typing.

"Let's see what I can find."

Around fifteen minutes later, Audrey finally produced something of some worth.

"Hey, look at this. It says that it's a Swiss Civic Heraldry. The symbol originates in Switzerland." Audrey stated.

Troy looked at the screen carefully. "Well, at least it's a start. Thanks for your help Audrey."

"No problem, I'll keep working on it." She said typing again.

Alex, Tyler and Sam all stood up and walked over to the door. "We've got to get going; we'll see you guys in the morning I presume?" Tyler said opening the door. Troy nodded his head.

"Yeah, we'll meet you here at 10:00." Troy answered. The threesome nodded and closed the door behind them.

Then Gabriella yawned. She had tried to keep it in, but it came against her will. Troy smiled down at her and glanced at his watch.

"It's getting late, and we still have to find a hotel to stay in. Is there a phone book we could use?" Troy asked Audrey who was still looking at the computer.

"Yeah, there's one in the bottom drawer over there." She pointed across the room.

Troy pulled it out and started calling hotels. But almost twenty minutes later, he was still trying to find an available room. After calling 10 hotels, Troy slammed his phone shut in frustration.

Audrey looked over at him in an almost sympathetic way. "Why don't you try the motel just out of town? Then maybe by tomorrow there will be an opening somewhere closer." Audrey suggested.

Gabriella smiled at her concern and looked over at Troy. He sighed and looked up the number for the name Audrey gave him. Five minutes later they were walking out the door headed for the motel. They expressed their thanks to Audrey once more and closed the door. The building was much quieter, then when they had arrived earlier. They walked arm in arm, silently walking down the stairs. It had been a long day for both of them.

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The motel was an older one, but still nice and neat. The rooms were in different little houses instead of all in the same building. As they walked in the door, Gabriella noticed how exhausted Troy looked. And her thoughts were confirmed when Troy immediately changed and landed in the bed. He was asleep before his head hit the pillow. If wasn't so tired Gabriella would have accused him of not kissing her goodnight. Gabriella smiled down at him, kissed his cheek and pulled the covers over him. She busied herself putting clothes away and then she took a long awaited shower. Once she felt refreshed, she stopped and just looked around the room. It was a cozy little room. The walls were painted brown with scarlet curtains on the windows. The bed set matched the scarlet color and the furniture in the room looked old, but newly reupholstered.

Gabriella smiled at the room and walked over to the bed. She sat down under the covers and pulled out her father's journal and his papers. She opened the journal and started flipping through the pages, trying to find where she had left off. When she found her spot, she laid back and started reading to the sound of Troy's heavy breathing.

She hadn't read very far when she noticed there was a ticking sound coming to her ears. She looked around but couldn't see any clocks. The ticking continued. She held her breath and listened carefully. It was coming from _under _the bed. She got down on her hands and knees and saw a complex little device reading 2 minutes. The shock hit her. It was a bomb.

"TROY! TROY WAKE UP! WE'VE GOT TO GET OUT OF HERE!" Gabriella screamed shaking him.

"Gabriella, what's the matter?" Troy said sleepily, yet in a worried voice. Gabriella picked up her father's things and grabbed Troy's hand.

"Come on, **now**, there's a bomb that's about the go off!" When the word bomb was spoken, Troy immediately became alert and grabbed hold of Gabriella. They ran outside and ducked for cover, just as it happened. It was a gigantic explosion. From far away it might have sounded like a big firework. There were flames and debris everywhere. It looked as if someone was having a big bonfire.

Troy stared at the mass of flames while folding on to a hysterical Gabriella. She was clinging to him like a baby would to their mother. He kissed the top of her head and whispered comforting words to her. There were people everywhere, and someone must have called the fire department, because a truck was just pulling up.

Troy sat down on the curb and pulled Gabriella onto his lap, cradling her in his arms.

When she had finally calmed down enough to talk, he asked her a question.

"Do you know what you just did?" Troy said softly. Gabriella stared at the burned down little house. When she didn't answer, Troy continued.

"You just saved my life, both of ours, actually." Troy said with emotion. Gabriella looked into his eyes. A soft smile evaded her lips.

"Well, I know I couldn't live without you." She said in a shaky voice. Troy took her chin in his fingers. He pressed his mouth to hers and kissed her passionately. He let back and took her face in his hands and wiped her tears.

"I love you princess. More than you can ever imagine."

Gabriella responded by kissing him long and hard.

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The next morning Troy and Gabriella arrived at the CIA building a complete mess. Gabriella had on a robe a kind old lady had given her and Troy was in his pajamas with a police jacket on top. When Audrey, Alex, Tyler and Sam saw them they were immediately concerned. Troy and Gabriella explained everything. Audrey took pity on Gabriella and offered to lend her some clothes so she and Troy could go shopping to replace everything. Gabriella gratefully accepted. Troy on the other hand had emergency clothes in his office and waited for the woman with the other three men in Audrey's office.

"Why in the world are these guys so relentless?" Tyler asked Troy who was sitting at Audrey's computer.

"I couldn't tell you Tyler. They just really don't want us to succeed." Troy said staring at the computer screen.

There was silence in the room, until Alex broke it. "How did those papers survive but nothing else?" Alex asked curiously, pointing at Carson Montez' papers and journal.

Troy smiled at the question. "Gabriella grabbed them before we ran out. She was the real hero last night. Lucky for me, she hadn't been as tired as I was. If she had gone to sleep any earlier, we both wouldn't be here." Troy said. His eyes started to water at the thought of Gabriella trying to protect _him_, the CIA agent.

Before anyone could say anything else, Audrey and Gabriella walked in. Gabriella looked and felt much happier than earlier this morning. Troy wiped his eyes before turning toward them.

"Well my dear lady, shall we go shopping?" Troy said jokingly holding out his arm.

Gabriella laughed and took it. "We shall my dear man." They said goodbye to the others and headed for the mall. There day seemed to be a perfect one. Gabriella enjoyed the time away from people trying to kill her. They purchased all that they needed to replace their other belongings and then bought an ice cream cone.

As they jumped in the car, eating their ice cream, Gabriella noticed a man getting into his green car a few spaces away. He looked kind of familiar. But Gabriella pushed it aside, not wanting to ruin the perfect day.

As they drove down Main Street, Gabriella looked behind them and saw the same green car she had seen in the parking lot. She groaned a loud. Troy looked over at her in worry.

"What's the matter princess?" Troy asked taking her hand. Gabriella felt electric shocks go up her hand when he touched her. "As much as I hate to say this, there's someone following us." Gabriella said with disappointment in her voice. She hit the dash board in frustration. "I'm really starting to get tired of being followed."

Troy looked behind them. "Yep, you're right again, I saw that car in the parking lot. I just didn't want to scare you." Gabriella somehow smiled at the wonderful, caring man sitting next to her.

Troy turned right. The car was still behind them. He took a sharp left. So did the green car. Troy sped up quickly. Gabriella screamed when a bullet hit the back window.

"Get down!" Troy yelled. Gabriella ducked down behind the seat and squeezed her eyes shut. She felt Troy turn the car this way and that. There were also a few more shots fired. After what seemed forever, Troy slowed down and pulled the car to a stop.

"It's okay now Gabriella, I think we lost him." Troy said soothingly. Gabriella sat up slowly and took a deep breath.

"When this is all over, I want to take a nice quiet drive, _without _green cars following me." Gabriela said in an exasperated voice. Troy chuckled.

"I promise we will." Troy's cell phone suddenly started ringing. He picked it up and said hello.

Suddenly, Troy's facial expressions changed from pleasant to utter shock. He said goodbye and started the car.

"Where are we going?" Gabriella asked anxiously.

"Something's come up."

**(a/n: okay, there's that chapter. How is it so far? I think this is the best story I've ever written. I think I just wanted a different kind of story, but I also love Troyella. So I just mixed the two. Tell me what you think. I appreciate your comments and reviews.)**


	5. Chapter 5

**Recap**

Troy's cell phone suddenly started ringing. He picked it up and said hello.

Suddenly, Troy's facial expressions changed from pleasant to utter shock. He said goodbye and started the car.

"Where are we going?" Gabriella asked anxiously.

"Something's come up."

**End Recap**

"Troy, what's going on?" Gabriella asked insistently as Troy accelerated the car.

"That was Audrey on the phone. She says she's come up with something. A _big_ something."

Gabriella's heart started beating fast. She sat silent the rest of the way to the CIA building. Once they got there, they raced to Audrey's office to find her sitting at the desk with a smile on her face.

"Well I hope this is worth your mad rush here." Audrey said turning to the computer.

"I was just doing some research on that symbol, and I remembered you had told me that someone else knew about the cave. So I decided I would give it a try. And look what I got." Audrey said pointing to the screen. Troy and Gabriella leaned in closer and read the words on the screen as Audrey explained what it said.

"In 1962, a man named Tom Landon came across _this_ symbol in Northern Switzerland. Later, he claimed to have found a cave of great value. But sadly enough, he never told anyone the location or what was inside the cave. I can only assume that he is talking about the ruby cave. It all seems to match. This symbol originates in _Switzerland_, and he found it in _Switzerland_. Everything else just seems to fall into place." Audrey said leaning back in her cushy chair.

Troy stared at the screen, then leaned back and folded his arms, looking at Audrey.

"Well, I have to hand it to you Audrey, that's some pretty good work. Maybe we can go and visit this Tom Landon. He might be able to help us, a _lot_." Troy said.

Audrey nodded her head. "I've already thought of that. Tom Landon died 3 years ago."

The two CIA agents stood in silence, wondering what they could do, while Gabriella looked at both of them, shocked that they didn't think the obvious. She sighed, and spoke up.

"Well, most people happen to be married you know. If I were him, I would have told my wife something important as that." Gabriella said innocently, looking around the room as if she hadn't thought about it at all.

Troy looked at Gabriella and then smiled. "Why didn't I think of it before? Audrey, was he married and is she still alive?" Troy asked quickly.

Audrey turned to the computer and started pressing the keyboard. Five minutes later, she found what they were looking for.

"Bingo, Carol Landon married Tom Landon in 1954. And she lives in….. (Audrey paused a minute, her eyes searching the screen)…..Virginia! Ha, it's our lucky day. Here I'll give you her address."

She wrote it down, and then Troy and Gabriella headed out the door. "Thanks a million Audrey." Gabriella said. But when she went to follow Troy she bumped right into his back.

Tyler, Alex and Sam were standing at the door. "Looks like we're right on time fella's." Alex said grinning. Everyone laughed as Troy led the way outside. Troy and Gabriella hopped into their car while Alex, Tyler and Sam got in theirs.

It didn't take long for them to find the Landon home. When they walked up to the door Gabriella gently pressed the doorbell and they waited. After a few moments, they heard soft footsteps and they door opened. A kind little lady appeared at the door. She looked to be about sixty, with dark brown and gray hair. Her eyes were gentle and she had a sweet smile. Her voice matched her looks when she spoke to them.

"Hello, can I help you?" she said.

"Hi, yes, you must be Mrs. Landon. We're here concerning your husband." Troy said.

The woman's eyes widened at the sound of her late husbands name. She moved out of the doorway.

"Please come in." she said. The five people walked in thanking her. She ushered them into her living room and they sat down.

"Now, what can I tell you concerning my husband?" she asked them. Troy once again took over. He explained about the cave, and how they were trying to protect it by finding it. Then he explained how they found out that Tom Landon most likely knew where it was.

"Is there anything that he told you about things like this?" Gabriella asked kindly, giving Troy a break.

The woman thought for a moment. "Well, the only thing that I can think of that seemed kind of odd, was something he gave me right before he died." Carol Landon stood up and walked out of the room. She returned with a small piece of paper. She handed it to Troy.

Troy read it aloud. "The way points at 1:23 pm." Gabriella stared at the strange message. Troy passed it to Alex, Sam and Tyler who examined it as well.

"I had no idea what it meant. He died before he could tell me anything else." Mrs. Landon said straightly.

"This is very interesting Mrs. Landon, and it might help us. Can we take this for a while?" Troy asked standing up. Everyone else stood up as she answered.

"Of course, I would love it if you found out what it meant." She said following them to the door.

"Thank you Mrs. Landon, we really appreciate it." Gabriella said with a warm smile. They waved goodbye and walked out to their cars.

"I think we should go back to the office and think some things through. It might help us figure some of these puzzles out." Troy said to Alex, Sam and Tyler. They nodded and jumped in their car. Troy opened Gabriella's door and then walked around to the driver's seat.

Ten minutes later, they were all sitting in Audrey's office, in complete silence. They needed to figure out where the symbol was located so they could find the cave. And they needed to decipher what "The way points at 1:23" meant.

Over the period of a couple of hours, they argued, brainstormed and thought about everything they knew. But in the end, all they had determined was that the symbol was somewhere in Northern Switzerland. Now they were just sitting there, lost in there thoughts. Audrey was on the computer, Alex was fiddling with a pencil, Tyler was leaning back in a chair closing his eyes shut and Troy was pacing the room. Gabriella just sat on top of the desk looking around at everyone.

Sam sighed as they sat there. "So what in the world are we going to do here?" he said discouraged.

Troy sat on top of the desk next to Gabriella and ran a hand through his hair. "I don't know. We just don't have enough evidence, or information to figure out anything." Troy leaned down and sighed in frustration. Gabriella put an arm around his shoulders. She looked up at the clock on the wall and gasped when it read 11:30. Troy looked up as well and then slid off the desk, taking Gabriella with him.

"Well, I think it's time to hit the hay. We'll see you guys in the morning. Goodnight." Troy said, holding Gabriella's hand while walking out the door. Gabriella quickly said her goodbyes, seeming how Troy was pulling on her, and closed the door behind them.

They walked hand in hand out to the car. The parking lot was almost completely empty and dark, except the couple of head lights above them. Gabriella was about to get in when Troy grabbed on her arm and pulled her into a warm embrace. Gabriella smiled as he kissed her neck.

"When this is all over, we're going away, for a long awaited and neglected honeymoon." Troy said softly into her sweet smelling hair.

"I agree. But for now, why don't you stop talking and kiss me." Gabriella said into his ear. It was Troy's turn to smile then he captured her lips on his. Gabriella eagerly responded, melting into his arms, her hands running through his hair. Gabriella let out all the emotion she had built up inside during the past couple of days. Now, she felt like nothing could be better than sitting wrapped up in strong arms, kissing the man of her dreams.

Troy smiled into the kiss as he felt her fingers rubbing the back of his neck. He snaked his arms tighter around her waist and lifted her small body slightly off the ground. He pulled back when he needed air, but kept his face only an inch from hers. He kissed her again, gently and then looked into her chocolate eyes. She smiled up at him, which made him smile, his boyish kind of smile.

"Why don't we finish this in ten minutes?" he said mischievously. Gabriella looked at him with a small smile.

"I wouldn't mind it." She said softly. Troy set her down slowly, kissed her again, and then opened her door. Then ran around to his side and started the car.

10 minutes later, they were walking out of the elevator. Troy opened their door for her and waited for her to walk in. Gabriella held her ground. She looked up at him.

"I don't believe I've been carried across the threshold yet." She said lightly. Troy smiled down at her. Gabriella held her arms out, and in one swift move Troy lifted her off the ground and carried her through the door. Troy kissed her passionately while closing the door with his foot. Gabriella put her arms around his neck and kissed him back. But she stopped when Troy's face turned to a look of dismay and shock. He was looking towards the room. Gabriella turned her head and gasped. The room was once more a disaster. Even worse then before. Troy set her down and walked through the mess and picked up a note hanging on the bathroom door. He read it aloud.

**Don't think you're smarter than me. I know about the symbol. And by the time you get this, I'll be out of the country. Don't try to follow. It'll only get dirty then.**

**Jasper Casmir **

Troy tore up the note and threw it on the ground in anger. This man would stop at nothing. His anger came to a halt when Gabriella cried out to him.

"Troy! Troy, he's taken dad's papers, the ones with the symbol on it!"

**PLEASE R&R!**

**(a/n: and there you go. How was that one? Not quite as much action, but it works. LoL. Tell me how you like it. Thanks again for your comments….it's what keeps me going. R&R)**


	6. Chapter 6

**Recap**

Troy tore up the note and threw it on the ground in anger. This man would stop at nothing. His anger came to a halt when Gabriella cried out to him.

"Troy! Troy, he's taken dad's papers, the ones with the symbol on it!"

**End Recap**

The next morning, Gabriella sat on the bed, distraught over what had happened the night before, while Troy was on the phone. He came into the room once he was off and walked over and sat down by her.

They sat in a suspenseful silence for a few minutes, until Troy finally spoke up.

"Well, the only real solution is to find that symbol before Casmir does." Troy explained.

When Gabriella didn't respond, Troy continued, "But the problem still remains that we don't know where it is. I'm going to go the office today and do some things. And I think it would be better if you stayed here." Troy said, saying the last part a bit more hesitantly.

Gabriella immediately came to life when he said this. "No, Troy! You can't just leave me here, what if someone comes, or something happens?" she said frantically, jumping off the bed in outrage.

"I've already arranged for Tyler and Alex to come here. Sam will stay with me." Troy said looking at his feet.

"If anything happens, they'll be here." Troy added. Gabriella crossed her arms and turned her back to him. Troy sighed. _I knew this was going to happen._ He walked over to her and touched her shoulder.

"Gabriella?" he said softly. "I'm only trying to protect you."

After Troy said that, the tears started coming for Gabriella. All of the exhaustion, adrenaline, and other emotions caught up with Gabriella. Troy, seeing that she was crying, turned her around toward him. Gabriella just fell into his warm, muscular arms and cried into his shirt. Troy rubbed her back and talked soothing words to her.

Once she had more control over herself, and his shirt was soaked to the skin, Gabriella looked up at him.

"I'm sorry Troy." She said simply. Troy took her chin in his hand.

"There's no need to be." Then he kissed her lovingly. He pulled back, only because there was a knock at the door. He kept her in his arms.

"That will be Tyler and Alex princess." He said softly, hugging her to him. Gabriella smiled on his shoulder. She eased herself out of his embrace, wiped her eyes, and went to the door.

She opened it, and Tyler and Alex walked in looking fresh and alert.

"Good morning boys." Gabriella said as cheerfully as she could. Tyler and Alex smiled at her.

"Good morning sis." Tyler said happily. They had started calling her their sister when Gabriella mentioned that she never had any siblings. Gabriella loved them like brothers.

Troy came in then and put on his shoes. "Well, keep the place in one piece before I get back. Call me if anything happens." He gave Gabriella a quick kiss and nodded his head toward the other two. Then he was gone.

Gabriella sighed, and then turned to Tyler and Alex. "You're welcome to anything, since the CIA is paying, so you can do whatever and I won't care in the least." Gabriella said with a smile.

"I'm just going to be in the bedroom reading. If you need anything just holler." Gabriella said walking into the bedroom. She walked over to the bed and flopped on top of it. Then she pulled out her dad's journal and continued her reading in it.

She was about three fourths of the way through it when something caught her eye. The page in front of her contained the symbol, _nothing new_, but there was also writing next to it. Writing that was _very_ useful.

"Tyler! Alex! Look at this!" Gabriella said, running into the other room. Tyler turned off the TV, and they both jumped off the couch.

They looked at it with wide eyes. "We need to call Troy and Sam." Alex said, pulling out his phone. He dialed the number and told them to get here fast. Five minutes later, Troy burst through the door, with a confused Sam behind him.

"What is it? What happened? Is Gabriella ok?" he said quickly worrying. Gabriella came over to him.

"I'm just fine. But look what I found." She held up the book to him. He read it closely then looked back at Gabriella in bewilderment.

"Is this really what I think it is?" he said hoarsely. Gabriella nodded.

"It is. It really is the location to the symbol."

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"The Swiss Alps huh?" Troy said in amazement the next day on the plane. They weren't going to waste anytime getting to their destination.

"Yep, the one and only." Gabriella said proudly. She had been greatly acknowledged for discovering such a big thing. And she felt proud of it. But Troy was still in amazement.

"Well, I'm glad you found it princess. We might have been looking for ages." Troy said kissing her lightly. Gabriella smiled at him tenderly. Troy then leaned back and closed his eyes, trying to get some sleep. He kept wiggling around, trying to find a comfortable position. Gabriella watched him, giggling at his unsuccessful attempts. After watching him struggle enough, she spoke up.

"I've heard laying down helps." Gabriella said, pointing to her lap. Troy smiled in agreement. He moved the armrest between them and laid his head on her lap. He smiled up at her and pulled her head down to his and covered her mouth with his. It wasn't a very long kiss, but it meant a lot. Troy sighed as he lay against her and closed his eyes. Gabriella ran her fingers through his velvety hair. Troy leaned his head into her hand, as if telling her he liked it.

Meanwhile, Alex was a few seats back watching _National Treasure_ next to a sleeping Tyler, and an eating Sam.

He was to the part where Ben, Riley and Abigail had just figured out that there was a certain time that the shadow of Independence Hall would show them where the next clue was.

As Alex watched this, a sudden brilliant idea hit him. He started pushing Tyler awake, and poked Sam.

Tyler groaned at the sudden rude awakening.

"Dude, what are you waking me up for?" Tyler said drowsily rubbing his eyes.

"Yeah, what's the big idea?" Sam said, wiping his hands.

"I just had a stroke of genius. What if "1:23", the time on that message from Tom Landon, was certain time that points somewhere? **The way points at 1:23**Think about it, maybe it points the way to the cave." Alex said in a hushed voice, as to not bother anyone else.

Tyler and Sam stared at him, shocked. "You know, you may have something there." Tyler said thoughtfully.

"I agree. It could be the missing link to all of this." Sam said. "Anyways, you should probably tell Troy, he'd want to know."

Alex stood up and glanced up over at Troy and Gabriella. He noticed that Troy was comfortable lying down on Gabriella, sleeping. Alex sat back down.

"I think it would be best to wait for a while. There's still a long trip ahead of us." Alex said.

Tyler and Sam peered over at them as well, and then nodded their heads in agreement.

Tyler settled back down and closed his eyes, Sam dove back into his food, and Alex continued with his movie.

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The next couple of days were uneventful. They traveled safely, touring sites when they switched planes. When they finally arrived in Switzerland, it was quite late at night. And they were all exhausted. They all checked into a first class hotel, and said their goodnights before going to their separate rooms.

As Gabriella unpacked their things, Troy was in the shower, rejuvenating what little energy he had. Gabriella put on her bathrobe, preparing to get in the shower once Troy was finished. When he stepped out, he was in nothing but a towel. His tanned muscular chest was bare. Beads of water were clinging to his powerful arms. Gabriella smiled at him slyly, as she passed him to get into the bathroom. Troy winked at her as she closed the door smiling at him.

As she stepped into the hot water, Gabriella sighed, feeling her body slowly regain liveliness. She washed her hair and then quickly got out. With a towel she dried her hair a bit and then slipped back into her robe. When she opened the door, Troy was on the bed, reading a magazine. He looked up at her and smiled brightly. Gabriella strolled over to the bed slowly. When she got to the edge of the bed, Troy took her into his arms and his lips crashed onto hers. His lips were hot and hungry on hers. Gabriella wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him closer to him, lying back on the plum, silk pillow. They kissed for who knows how long, until they fell asleep in each others arms.

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The next morning, everyone woke up fresh and ready to go. They got some breakfast, and then headed out for their destination. They rented a helicopter, seeming how where they were going was pretty high up. As they flew through the air, Gabriella looked outside and marveled at the breathtaking scenery. It was a bright sunny day and the mountains seemed to look like a picture from a book. To Gabriella, it was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen. They landed in the spot where they had previously decided to and got out of the helicopter. The rest of the way would be by foot. As they walked Gabriella read from the journal, specific instructions on how to get there.

"We need to find a tree marked with an X on the base of it." Gabriella said aloud. The men walked around and inspected all the trees. About 15 minutes and a mile later, Sam spotted what they were looking for.

"Here it is. I think?" Sam shouted, pointing to the base of a particularly old maple tree. Everyone ran to where he was and agreed it was what they were looking for. Gabriella continued from the journal.

"Then you need to take 100 steps east from the tree." Gabriella instructed.

"I'll do it." Tyler said, volunteering. He stepped by the base and started walking east, counting his steps.

"…..98, 99,100. Here we are." Tyler said stopping in place. Gabriella read once more.

"Turn right and walk fifty paces." Alex jumped in for Tyler and walked fifty steps.

Gabriella started reading the last part. "Turn northwest and walk another 100 steps. Then it should be right there." She said looking around. Troy took his turn and started walking in the correct direction. He stopped in front of a tall and narrow, pointed shaped mountain.

"20, here we are. Now where's that symbol?" Troy said. Everyone split up and walked around, examining every crook and cranny. Gabriella jumped when she saw a faint drawing on the mountain.

"I found it!" Gabriella said, yelling to the others. They quickly gathered around.

"Yep, that's it. It's got to be. Good job princess." Troy said pulling her into a tight, sideways hug.

"Thanks very much. It helps a great deal." A cool chilling voice said from behind.

The five of them whipped around. Eric Thompson and 2 other men where standing there, guns pointed.

**(a/n: and there's that one. I was going to write more on it, but I'm kind of tired right now. I'll update it soon. Tell me how this one was? Did I have too much troyella, or not enough? Was there not enough action? Tell me what you think. I enjoy reading your thoughts. Thanks)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Troy or Gabriella or High School Musical. I don't own National Treasure either.**


	7. Authors Note

**(a/n: Hey guys. Okay I'm extremely sorry to say this, but I'm going to be gone the rest of this week. I've already started working on the next chapter, and I honestly tried to finish it before today, but I just couldn't. There was too much I wanted to put in this chapter. So I will finish it on Saturday when I come back. I just didn't want to leave you guys in a lurch, and think I totally just gave up. Because I didn't, I'm just going to be gone. So hang in there with me until I get back. Thanks a million!)**


	8. Chapter 8

**Recap**

"I found it!" Gabriella said, yelling to the others. They quickly gathered around.

"Yep, that's it. It's got to be. Good job princess." Troy said pulling her into a tight, sideways hug.

"Thanks very much. It helps a great deal." A cool chilling voice said from behind.

The five of them whipped around. Eric Thompson and 2 other men where standing there, guns pointed.

**End Recap**

Troy swiftly swung Gabriella behind his back, covering her. He started reaching for his gun, when a shot rang out. It whizzed close by him.

"Don't even think about it Bolton." Eric said menacingly. Troy pulled his hand back and thought fast. Then the light bulb came on. Eric turned his back toward them, talking to the other two men. Troy glanced at Alex, Tyler and Sam. He signaled with his eyes toward the ground. Then at his feet. He then blinked three times. Alex, Tyler and Sam all nodded slightly.

Gabriella just stared at them all, lost completely. Troy put his hands up. One finger on each hand pointed. _That's odd._ Gabriella thought to herself.

"Okay Thompson, you've got us. I guess there's absolutely no way we can get away." Troy said sadly. His fingers changed to two. Thompson and the others didn't notice, or care.

"Well I'm glad you've finally come to your senses Bolton." Thompson said flatly. Troy didn't answer. He locked eyes with Eric in a tense moment. Then out of nowhere, he shouted…..

"THREE!" At the sound of Troy's voice, he, Alex, Tyler and Sam, all kicked dust with their feet up at the three men. It gave them enough time to pull out their guns and dive for cover.

Troy grabbed Gabriella and pulled her with him behind a big boulder. Gabriella covered her ears and held tightly to Troy. There were shots everywhere. Gabriella peeked up and saw one man go down as Troy shot. Two seconds later the other man went down. Now all that was left was Eric. A fierce silence broke out. Troy could see Tyler from where he was and motioned to him. Troy made some sort of CIA gesture, Gabriella thought, because Tyler nodded at him a second later. Tyler started moving around. Then Gabriella understood. _They're surrounding him._ Suddenly a voice called out.

"You'll never catch me, Bolton." Then it was gone. Five minutes later, Tyler and Sam walked over to them.

"He's gone. We've searched everywhere." Alex walked up behind them. They all crammed theirs guns away and walked back over to the symbol they had found.

"Well now that we've found the symbol, what do we do?" Sam asked.

"We've got to figure out what it's supposed to help us find." Troy said, sitting on a rock.

"Wait a minute, I almost forgot. Troy, on the plane, I came up with a theory about the 1:23 thing." Alex said quickly. Troy looked up at him.

"And what would that be?" Troy asked impatiently. Alex explained about how at that certain time, it this symbol might show us the way to go next. Troy thought it over.

"That might actually work. What time is it now?" Troy asked. Gabriella glanced down at her watch.

"1:00." She answered. Troy slapped his knee. "We're in luck fella's. I say we just wait twenty minutes and see what happens." They all agreed and sat down. The twenty minutes went by fast and they were soon counting the seconds.

"5, 4, 3, 2 ,…..1!" Troy said looking at his watch. "Quick where is it pointing?"

They all looked out. The tall pointed mountain shadow landed on another mountain out in the distance. Sam took a picture of it. They all ran back to the helicopter and got in. Once they were in the air, Troy let Tyler take over flying and took out a bag from behind his seat.

"Here, I thought we might need these." Troy said handing a bunch of walkie talkies and ear pieces out. He then pulled out a small gun for Gabriella. She gave him a hard look.

"It's for just in case, nothing more." He said, responding to her glare. He continued to get out equipment. The last one was a particularly interesting one. He pulled one out and showed it to Gabriella.

"This is a Dinger." Troy said holding it up. "This little pad sticks under your sleeve, so no one can see it. It will vibrate every time you push this button." Troy explained holding up a blue round circle. "It just sits in your pocket. All you have to do is send out a coded message by pushing the button however many times, and all of us," Troy said pointing to everyone in the helicopter, "Will be able to feel it and understand what it means, without you saying a single word. It can come in handy when you're in trouble."

Everyone grabbed their set and tested it out. The told Gabriella all the necessary codes she might have to use while they were searching, or if they got separated somehow.

"The last code is one of the most important, Gabriella." Alex told her. "It's called the Hit and Run Operation. You send out 3 buzzes, then 2. Then when the time is right you count down slowly by giving three more pushes. That everyone will know when to move." Alex explained.

Gabriella was fascinated by the fact that the CIA had a code for everything, well at least that's what it seemed like to her.

Ten minutes later they were landing the copter. Everyone piled out and waited until Sam showed them the picture of where the location pointed.

Sam took out the picture and examined it. Troy looked behind his shoulder.

"This way." Sam said pointing westward. They all followed Sam for about 5 minutes until he stopped in front of a towering mountain.

"Well, it should be here somewhere." He said looking around. His eyes wandered, until he found what they were looking for.

"Ah ha, it's right there." Everyone jumped to where Sam was pointing, and sure enough, the symbol was faintly drawn on the mountain. They all smiled at their success.

"Now what are we supposed to do?" Gabriella asked with a sigh.

Nobody answered her. Troy walked up to the symbol, and ran his hand along the smooth mountain it was on. He stopped when he came to an indentation just to the left of the symbol. He firmly pushed on it. Suddenly a loud moving sound came from behind them. They turned around to see a doorway, opening up. They all just stood there in a silent stupor. A smile burst on Gabriella's face. They all cracked up laughing. Gabriella wrapped herself around Troy's waist, laughing as well.

"Troy you're a genius." She said still giggling. Troy laughed as well. "I do what I can."

Once everyone had control over there laughter, they walked over to the doorway and stopped, looking in.

"Who wants to go in the dark, scary door first?" Tyler said hesitantly. They all stood there, until Troy sighed and stepped up. He took Gabriella's hand and led the way in. They all took out their flashlights and looked around the old, what seemed to be hallway. Gabriella gasped and grabbed onto Troy tighter when she saw a bat hanging upside down.

At the end of the hallway they came to a wooden door. The door slowly creaked open. On the other side was a room. In the room were a few desks with papers scattered all over. It was all covered in a thick layer of dust. There was a bunch of old archeology equipment lying around. There were bunches of big bags filled to the top with dirt and rocks. There were maps hanging on the walls, with tiny little pinpoints, most likely indicating digging spots.

While the four men started looking around, Gabriella walked over to the desk and picked up one of the old yellow papers. She blew off dust, and coughed. She shined her flashlight on it and skimmed the paper. When she got to the bottom, she gasped at the name written on it.

Tom Landon.

"You guys! Come over here and look at this." Gabriella said excitedly. They all walked over and looked over her shoulder at the paper in her hand. Gabriella pointed to the bottom where the name was written. Troy took the paper from her.

"I can't believe it. This must be where Tom Landon held headquarters, when he was out here." Troy said amazed.

They looked through the rest of the papers, which were all signed by Tom Landon. Gabriella opened one of the drawers and found a small booklet. Being the curious person she was, she opened it up. Her eyes widened when she read the first cover page.

The Diary of Tom Landon, 1962.

"Troy, come here and look at this." Gabriella handed him the book. Troy looked at the front page and her same expression came on his face. He flipped through the pages. When he got to the last entry, he stopped. He read and reread the page. Gabriella stared at his shocked face and read the page, wondering what he was so stunned about. Gabriella read the page aloud.

"June 21, 1962. The key to the hidden cave is in the drawer." That was it. That's all that it said. Gabriella thought hard, thinking what it might mean.

"So, maybe there's a drawer in here with the key?" She said innocently. She started looking around, while Tyler, Alex, Sam and Troy just watched her. She rolled her eyes at them and continued searching drawers.

She stopped when she reached a little table drawer in the corner of the room. She stared at it intently. The other four came behind her and stopped.

"What is it princess?" Troy asked, looking at her rigid face.

"This table is an exact replica of my father's drawer back at home." She said in a flatly voice.

Everyone's jaw dropped. Gabriella knelt down in front of the table and tried to open it.

It wouldn't budge an inch. She groaned.

"Why do all the important things have to be locked?" Gabriella said frustrated. Troy chuckled and knelt down beside her. Within thirty seconds the drawer was open. Gabriella smiled timidly at her negative thoughts. She pulled out a piece of paper and a small red ruby. They all gathered around her and gazed at the objects.

"We better get out of here, and then we can figure this out." Troy said standing up.

"Not if I can help it." Said a menacing voice. The five of them whisked around to see Jasper Casmir smiling devilishly at them. He started to close the door. The five some yelled, trying to get to the door before it closed. But it was already closed. Troy tried to open it up, but it wouldn't shift.

They were too late.

**(a/n: Hey look, I'm back! And here's the next chapter. Tell me how you like it. Sorry about the wait, but like I said, I was gone all week. Thanks for sticking with me. Please read and review. Thanks) **


	9. Chapter 9

**Recap**

"We better get out of here, and then we can figure this out." Troy said standing up.

"Not if I can help it." said a menacing voice. The five of them whisked around to see Jasper Casmir smiling devilishly at them. He started to close the door. The five some yelled, trying to get to the door before it closed. But it was already closed. Troy tried to open it up, but it wouldn't shift.

They were too late.

**End Recap**

Troy, Tyler and Sam all tried over and over again to open the door. But over and over again, they failed.

"We've got to search this room for another way out. There's got to be an emergency exit somewhere." Troy said "Tyler, you look over there, Sam, over there." Troy continued pointing in different directions.

Gabriella watched them hopelessly. She glanced back down at the paper in her hand. Alex came over to her and read it aloud over her shoulder.

"The way is hidden, with those who learn Swiss. So go read a book. Hmm, it sounds like a riddle?" Alex said thoughtfully. Gabriella nodded.

"And look at all these numbers, I wonder what they mean? And why are they arranged like this, 8-6-25?" Gabriella asked sitting down on an old chair. Alex knelt down beside her taking the paper in his hands.

"I don't know, but as long as we're just sitting here, we could try and figure out this riddle?" Alex suggested. Gabriella agreed and started thinking aloud.

"The way is hidden, with those who learn Swiss. What could that mean? Learn Swiss? Hmm…where could you go to learn Swiss?" Gabriella asked. Alex thought for a moment.

"Umm, school, home….I don't know." They sat in silence for a minute, watching the other three search the room.

"Hey, wait. What if it means somewhere Swiss that you learn?" Alex said. Gabriella thought about it.

"Maybe your right. But where could it be talking about, it could be anywhere." Gabriella said in despair.

"Maybe that's the second part of the riddle. So go read a book."

"The library!" Gabriella and Alex said at the same time. "But what library, there's probably hundreds here." Gabriella said with a fallen face.

"I would probably bet the Swiss Government library, it's the biggest one, and the closest one from here." Alex said proudly.

Gabriella smiled from ear to ear. "I think your right again brother." She gave him a big hug.

"Hey, Gabriella, Alex, over here, I think we found a way out." Troy yelled over to them.

They walked over there to find Tyler, Troy and Sam standing in front of a trap door. There was light coming from the bottom left of it. They all made there way down the ladder and within minutes were climbing out into the bright sunlight of Switzerland. Once everyone was out and brushed off Gabriella and Alex explained what they had figured out. Everyone was they all jumped into the helicopter and flew off.

It was about an hour's flight to the city where the library was, so everyone but Tyler, who was flying the helicopter, took a short cat nap. Once they were there, they all hopped out and grabbed a taxi to the Government Library. When they walked in, something hit Gabriella and she stopped where she stood. They all looked at her with concern.

"What's the matter princess?" Troy said worried.

"The problem is, we don't know where to look. There's hundreds of thousands of book here. It would take a lifetime to try and find it." Gabriella said, stating the setback they were in. No one had thought about that yet.

They all groaned. This wasn't good. They all walked over to the sitting area, and sat down in misery. They all thought long and hard. Over the course of a half and hour, everyone seemed to be lost in their own thoughts, not saying a word to anyone else.

Needing to stretch his legs, Troy stood up and walked over to the drinking fountain. Right above the fountain, was a large poster, advertising a historical archeology museum that was about to open up. Troy looked at it for a moment. The poster triggered an idea in his head. He quickly got a drink and half ran and half walked back over to the others.

"Guys, I have an idea." Troy said looking at them all. Everyone was immediately at the edge of their seats.

"What if, the book is in the cave section?" Troy said quickly. "It really makes quite a lot of sense, since this whole thing is concerning a cave." Troy explained.

"You could have something there Troy." Sam said standing up. "I say we find the section and start searching."

"Then, let's go." Gabriella said standing up, leading the way to the information desk. She asked the woman where the area was and thanked her when she pointed the way. Gabriella led the way to where the woman said and stopped in front of the room she had suggested.

"Okay boys, here we are." She opened the door and everyone walked in. Instantly, everyone took different isles and started searching the books.

It was going on for 5:30 pm when Tyler suddenly called everyone's names. They all found him holding a dark brown, worn book.

"What did you find Tyler?" Alex asked curiously. Tyler showed the front cover of the book to them. Everyone gasped. The cover didn't contain any words. Only a symbol. _The_ symbol.

"This is it, you found it Tyler. Way to go!" Troy said in a hushed voice. They all stood there staring at it.

"So what do we do now that we found it?" Sam asked, looking at each of their faces.

"Maybe these numbers are the next clue." Gabriella said pulling out the paper they had found in the drawer.

"But we couldn't figure out what they were for." Alex clarified. Troy took the paper and studied it.

"Well, maybe the first number indicates the page, then the second number means the line and the third number is the letter on the line." Troy said. Everyone gaped at him and his quick assumption.

"What?" he said. Gabriella just smiled at him. "Why didn't we think of that before?" she said. She took the book from Tyler and grabbed a pen out of her pocket. She then gave the paper to Sam.

"Here Sam, you tell me the numbers and I'll find the letter. Troy you write down the letter." Gabriella sat in a chair at the side of the room and listened to Sam as he called off the numbers. Fifteen minutes later, they were all staring at the piece of paper with all the letters on it.

"Hölloch Caverns huh?" Troy said whistling. "I guess that must be where the cave is located." Gabriella sighed.

"We did it." She said softly. Everyone chuckled at her. "We're not going anywhere today little missy. It's getting late, and we're all starving. We want to be fresh and energized for it tomorrow." Troy said. The other three all nodded their heads in agreement, rubbing there stomachs.

Gabriella just laughed at them. "Okay, okay, I realize a man can only go so long without a good meal." They all laughed at her while walking out the big brass doors. They decided on a restaurant and ate to their content. They all headed back for the hotel and said goodnight outside their doors.

Troy opened his and Gabriella's door and let her walk in. Gabriella took in a deep breath as she set down her things, and pulled off her shoes. While Troy was doing something in the other room, Gabriella changed into her favorite silk pajamas and turned on the TV. At the same time she heard the shower water turn on. She flipped the channels until she reached an old classic movie. She lay back on the couch and watched the movie. A few minutes later Troy came in a t-shirt, pajama bottoms and wet hair clinging to his face. Gabriella smiled up at him. He smiled back and walked over to her and sat down. Gabriella could smell the fresh scent of soap about him. She giggled.

"What was that for?" He said looking at her. Gabriella looked back at him.

"You smell good." She said simply. Troy smiled as well and wrapped an arm around her.

"Why thank you Mrs. Bolton." He said kissing her neck. Gabriella tried to watch the movie as Troy kissed her hair, neck, and arms.

"Troy, I'm trying to watch the movie." Gabriella said softly. Troy ignored her and enveloped her in his arms.

"Why don't you humor me, Mrs. Bolton?" Troy said frankly. Gabriella turned her head to his, and only had a second to look at him because Troy's lips collapsed on hers. Gabriella immediately wrapped her arms around his neck, completely forgetting the movie. Troy lifted her in his arms and kissed her all the way to the bedroom. He laid her gently on the bed, landing on top of her, holding her close. He kissed her passionately, as if nothing else in the world mattered. Gabriella gasped when his tongue flicked across her lips. She gladly obliged. Her hands went up into his semi-wet hair, ruffling it. How she loved this man.

Troy pulled back minutes later, breathing just as deeply as Gabriella. He laid his head on her chest, holding he close. Gabriella's fingers ran through his hair, massaging his head. Troy sighed into her. He lifted his head up and kissed her once more, then threw the covers over them and fell asleep in her arms.

CIACIACIACIACIACICIACIACIACIACIACIACIACIACIACIACIACIACIACIACIA

"Well, are we all ready to find a cave?" Gabriella said cheerfully the next morning as they were packing for the day. The men smiled at her enthusiasm. They all finished packing and then walked out to where they kept the helicopter. Over the good part of the next hour, they all planned what they were going to do, and how to do it. Once they were at the cave, they met a tour guide at the mouth of the cave.

"Can I help you?" the young man said pleasantly. "No, we're fine; we're just taking a look around the cave." Troy said a little too quickly. The man stared at him suspiciously, but opened the way to the cave anyways.

"Have a nice time." He said. Troy nodded to him and led the way into the cave. It was cold and wet. There were stalagmites and stalactites everywhere. If there wasn't lights put in the cave, it would be completely dark. During the course of the morning, they were mostly silent, just walking in a line, looking in every direction. At around noon, they stopped for a light lunch.

While Gabriella took a bite out of her sandwich, she noticed a large dark hole in the rock wall across from them. She set down her sandwich and walked carefully over to it. The other four watched her curiously. Once Gabriella reached the hole, she concluded that it was some sort of tunnel.

"Hey you guys come here and look at this." Gabriella said behind her shoulder. She shined her flashlight into it to see it more clearly. The others came up behind her and looked in as well.

"This looks out of the ordinary. I say we explore it a bit." Tyler said excited.

"What a brilliant idea, just so happens we had the same thought." said a voice from behind. Gabriella groaned inside, knowing all to well who it would be. But before she could do anything, there were men suddenly on Alex, Tyler, Sam and Troy. They tried to fight back, but only resulted in a punch in the stomach. They were soon restrained with guns pointed at their heads. Gabriella stood terrified. Jasper Casmir started walking around her.

"So my young child, it comes to this. We've had to come through all of this hassle just to come to this. You could have just told me from the beginning and we wouldn't have gotten in to this mess." Casmir said with a smirk. Gabriella glared at him. She put her hands in her pockets. She felt something in her right one. Casmir continued to talk.

"Do you really think it was worth all this trouble, just to die at the very end? I wouldn't have. But, I will make you an offer." Gabriela shot a look at him. He continued.

"You don't have to die. You can tell me what you know, and I can give you your little men here. _Or_ I can let you help me find the cave, and just get rid of the extra baggage here." Casmir said, pointing to Troy, Tyler, Alex and Sam.

"No!" Gabriella shouted. "It's your choice my dear." Casmir said with an evil smile.

"Don't do it Gabriella!" Troy shouted to her anxiously. Tears started welling up in Gabriella's eyes. She looked into Troy's eyes. His were pleading. Gabriella sank to the floor. Casmir started laughing. Gabriella shook her head in her knees.

_What am I going to do?_

**(a/n: okay, there's that one. How did you like it? I tried to make up some of the troyella stuff. I'll make sure I don't forget it again. Tell me how you liked this one. Thanks for your comments and suggestions.)**


	10. Chapter 10

**Recap**

"You don't have to die. You can tell me what you know, and I can give you your little men here. _Or_ I can let you help me find the cave, and just get rid of the extra baggage here." Casmir said, pointing to Troy, Tyler, Alex and Sam.

"No!" Gabriella shouted. "It's your choice my dear." Casmir said with an evil smile.

"Don't do it Gabriella!" Troy shouted to her anxiously. Tears started welling up in Gabriella's eyes. She looked into Troy's eyes. His were pleading. Gabriella sank to the floor. Casmir started laughing. Gabriella shook her head in her knees.

_What am I going to do?_

**End Recap**

Gabriella sat there in complete despair. What could she do? She was no CIA agent. She was only the wife of one.

While lost in her thoughts, Gabriella reached her hand inside her pocket. Her heart started beating faster when she felt what was in it.

The Dinger. She could use it to do something, but what? An idea came to her just as her thoughts were interrupted when Jasper Casmir shouted at her.

"I'm quite ready for your decision now, Mrs. Bolton!" he said angrily. Gabriella jumped to her feet, leaving her hands in her pockets. She had to stall while she sent out her message, and so Troy, Alex, Tyler and Sam could be ready.

"I think I've come to a conclusion." Gabriella said. She pushed her button 3 times, then 2. Troy, Tyler, Sam and Alex all looked up at her, feeling the message she was sending. Gabriella didn't look at them, in case Casmir noticed.

"So, what have you decided dear girl?" Casmir sneered at her. Gabriella pushed her button once. She stared Casmir down. She pushed the button once more.

"This is what I've decided." Gabriella pushed the button a last time. All at once, Troy, Tyler, Sam and Alex hit their captor in some sort of way to get released and prepared to take the fight that would follow. Gabriella quickly pulled out her gun. Casmir just stood their in shock at what had just happened. Once he regained his composure, he spotted Gabriella, who was busy taking out another man.

Gabriella looked up and saw Casmir coming toward her. She looked around for Troy, but found him busy with two men of his own. So she started running. As soon as she did, Casmir ran after her. Gabriella ran out of the room/cave that the rest of the fighting happening and tried to find a place she could hide. She found a huge stalagmite that could conceal three of her, so she quickly got behind it. A few seconds later, Casmir came running in. He stopped and listened.

"I know you're in here. You can't hide from me." He said in a creepy voice that made Gabriella shiver.

She could hear his footsteps echoing in the cave, they were getting closer, and closer. She felt as if her heart were going to burst out of her chest. What was she going to do?

She then remembered she was holding a gun. Gabriella laughed at herself, but then quickly frowned. She didn't want to shoot anyone, let alone kill anyone. The footsteps seemed as if they were right behind her. Gabriella peeked around the corner and she almost gasped when she saw Jasper Casmir standing two feet from her, back toward her.

She had to do it. It was for the safety of her, the cave and the others. She pointed her gun at his shoulder instead of his chest (her conscience was still nagging her) and pulled the trigger. Her aim was perfect and it hit him square in the shoulder. He fell to the ground and lay motionless. Gabriella lowered her hand, but jerked her head up to see Troy, Tyler, Sam and Alex all running in.

They looked terrible. Tyler and Sam both had black eyes, Alex had cuts on his face, and Troy's lip was bleeding, along with all of his cuts and bruises.

Gabriella jumped out of her hiding spot. "Troy, Alex, Sam, Tyler! Over here!" she said running to them, tripping and falling along the way. Alex, Sam and Tyler all gave her a hug and kissed her cheek and then they walked over to the shot down Casmir. When Troy reached Gabriella he crushed her to him, kissing her cheeks, eyes, and nose and then ended with her mouth.

"Gabriella I was so scared! I….." Troy was interrupted when at least a dozen policemen came running in. The tour guide they had met at the entrance was with them.

"I told you there was something fishy going on." The tour guide said proudly. Gabriella rolled her eyes then reluctantly eased herself out of Troy's warm arms. They all walked over to the policeman and explained the whole ordeal. They took away all of Jasper Casmir's men as well as him. Troy, Gabriella, Tyler, Sam and Alex all walked out of the cave in silence. They had decided, since Casmir was no more a threat, and the fact that they were all exhausted, that they would return the next day and finish their cave exploration.

By 10:00 pm, they were walking through the hotel doors and getting their keys of their rooms. Troy and Gabriella were silent the whole way to their room. Gabriella unlocked the door and walked in and as she was unbuttoning her jacket; she was suddenly in Troy's arms. His lips crashed down on hers. She felt him holding onto her for dear life. Gabriella hinted he was still in worry mode, and kissed him back. Troy lifted her off the floor slightly, and Gabriella's hands went automatically to his smooth, sandy hair.

Minutes later, Troy pulled back, holding Gabriella's face in his hands.

"I love you Gabriella. With all my heart I do." Troy said with such a warm voice, Gabriella's insides melted. She was even more touched when she saw tears rolling down Troy's bruised up face. She put a hand to his cheek and wiped away a tear that was about to cross a bad cut.

"I love you too." She said. Then she smiled at him. Troy smiled back. Gabriella wiped away her own tears and then finished taking off her jacket. She turned back to Troy.

"How about we clean you up a bit?" Gabriella said as if it was already decided. Troy smiled at her lovingly. Then he looked down at himself.

"Yeah, that might be a good idea." He said, finally realizing what a mess he was. Gabriella filled a bowl with hot water, and then grabbed a rag and a first aid kit. She had Troy sit on the bed while she cleaned his face and hands. When she was opening up the first aid kit, she dropped the Neosporin. Troy started to bend over to reach it for her, when he gasped in pain. Gabriella immediately became concerned.

"Troy, what wrong?" she said moving closer. Troy didn't even answer. He lifted his shirt off, exposing his well tanned and muscular body. But there was something else. On his right side was a big red and purple welt, or what could be a really bad bruise. There was dried blood all around it. Gabriella gasped at the horrible sight. And without warning, she started to cry. She fell onto the bedspread, face down. Troy was instantly worried, and carefully leaned down to her, as to not hurt himself. He urged her into his powerful arms. She willingly went into them.

Troy ran his hand through her hair, trying to calm her. She continued to cry on his bare shoulder, her tears running down his chest.

"Why didn't I just give Casmir the information?" she sobbed. "Then you wouldn't have been hurt."

"Gabriella, it's ok. We both know that would have been a very bad thing. You did what was right. That's what counts. In fact, you saved my life." Troy said lifting her face to his. He kissed her tenderly. Gabriella started to wrap her arms around him, but he cried in pain. Gabriella immediately pulled back.

"Lay down, so I can look at it closer." She cleaned it up and dabbed it with some antibiotics. She insisted he stay in bed, and she would order room service.

They ate dinner, and Troy soon fell asleep. Gabriella, feeling wide awake, walked into the living room and flipped through the TV channels. At around midnight, she headed back for the bed, and slipped into the covers. Within minutes she was fast asleep.

It was around 3 in the morning when Gabriella reached over to snuggle closer to Troy. Except that she didn't feel anything. Gabriella's eyes shot open to see an empty left side of the bed. She jumped out of bed and pulled her robe on. She walked out of the bedroom, and sighed in relief when she saw Troy sitting on the couch, staring at the blank TV screen. He jumped when Gabriella spoke.

"Are you trying to deprive me of my personal body warmer?" she said teasingly. But she immediately stopped when she saw Troy's tear stained face. _Boy, I've never seen him cry so much._

"Troy, what's wrong?" Gabriella said sitting next to him. Troy just took her into his embrace and held tight. Gabriella felt him shake with sobs. This just made her hold him tighter, smoothing his hair with her hand.

"Troy, Troy, please talk to me. I can't help if you don't tell me what's the matter." Troy soon came in control of his emotions and pulled back, still holding Gabriella.

"I was just making sure you were real." Troy said in a husky voice.

"Why?" Gabriella asked in worry. Troy lowered his head. "I had a dream. No, it was more like a nightmare. We were back in the cave, and while I was fighting, I saw you run out of the room, with Casmir behind you, just like today. I couldn't get away to follow you. Then…. (Troy choked back a sob)….I heard a shot. I finally broke away and ran to where you had headed. Casmir was gone, and you were….. (tears started to run down Troy's face)….laying there….dead."

Troy couldn't go on any longer. Gabriella took Troy into her arms at once and started crying herself. _The pain he must be going through._

"I held you and held you, trying to wake you up, but you wouldn't move." Troy said crying into her hair.

"Well, I'm right here. And I'm alive and living. And don't you doubt that." Gabriella said reassuringly into his ear. They sat there in silence, clinging to one another. After they both had stopped crying, Troy stood up and pulled Gabriella with him. They walked arm in arm toward the bedroom and climbed in bed. Gabriella snuggled close to him, taking in the wonderful scent of him.

**(a/n: okay, there is that one. There will be one last chapter, so be prepared. Tell me how you liked this one. Oh, and I've already thought of an idea for another story. Not one related to this series, but still a TxG one. It will be just romance though. I'm ready for something not so intense, if you know what I mean. Please read and review)**


	11. Chapter 11

The sun was shining bright, the birds were singing, and the air smelled of fresh, fragrant flowers. To Gabriella, it was the perfect day to end their quest in Switzerland. They had started out early to find the cave, because they were all to anxious and excited to see if it really was there.

They neared the tunnel that they had come close to exploring the day before, and one by one entered into it. Troy squeezed Gabriella's hand as they walked through the cold, dark tunnel. Gabriella smiled, even though he couldn't see her.

At the end of the tunnel, they entered into a large empty room. There appeared to be no doorway, or any other type of continuing tunnel. Gabriella sighed. They had come to a dead end.

Tyler, Alex and Sam started looking around the room; just to be sure there wasn't any other doorway. Troy put his arm around Gabriella.

"We'll find it. Don't worry, I know we will. We can't be led this far for nothing." Troy said encouragingly. Gabriella looked up at him admiringly. He always seemed to look on the bright side of things.

"Hey, you guys come here. Check this out." Sam called. They all walked over to him.

"Look at these two holes. They shaped very oddly to have just been chipped off." Sam commented. And it was true. There were two holes right next to each other. One was a good size bigger then the other, with a strange outline of what appeared to be a ring. The other hole was rather small, and pointed at the end of it.

Troy studied it hard, and then a thought came to him. "I wonder if…." He pulled out a small baggy and then withdrew the single ruby they had found in Tom Landon's table drawer. He placed it carefully inside the smaller hole. It was a perfect fit! Everyone cheered his success.

"But I'm afraid it's not going to help us much if we can't figure out what goes in that one." Troy said pointing to the larger hole. Gabriella stepped forward. She withdrew her ruby ring on her finger.

"I think I have a suspicion." She said reaching forward. She placed her ring inside the hole. It too was a perfect fit! Once again everyone cheered her for her success. Suddenly and wall shifted behind them. Dust flew everywhere. Once it had settled, and everyone had stopped coughing, a large entrance had been revealed.

Everyone slowly walked through it. Gabriella gasped as what she saw next.

The cave was filled with rubies.

CIACIACIACIACIACIACIACIACIACIACIACIACIACIACIACIACIACIACIACIA

The airplane took off the ground of Boston with perfect gracefulness. Gabriella leaned her head back on the seat, sighing in her absolute bliss. They were _finally _going on their long awaited honeymoon.

Troy gazed at her affectionately. "You know, you are the most intelligent and beautiful woman in the world." He said softly. Gabriella smiled softly at the comment. She leaned sideways across her seat toward him.

"In what way?" she asked, playfully. "Well, for one, how you decided to keep the cave a secret, like your father had wanted, instead of making millions of dollars from it." Troy said proudly.

"Yeah, I just thought it was the best thing to do. I think my father is pleased by it, and that's what counts the most." Gabriella said, with finality in her voice. She felt good about her decision, and was glad the whole ordeal was over.

"I say let's forget the cave, and focus on this honeymoon of ours." Gabriella said, changing the subject. Troy smiled and placed a quick kiss on her lips. For the rest of the flight to California, they reminisced back to their high school years and the years they had been apart.

A day later they arrived at their destination. They checked into Sunset Towers, a 5 star hotel, and took their luggage up the elevator. When they reached their door, Troy opened is slowly and allowed Gabriella to walk in. When Gabriella walked through the door, it was as if she had entered her dream world. The room was absolutely exquisite. The walls were painted a glimmering white color. The furniture and curtains were soft peach and navy blue colors. The carpet was a perfect tan color to match with the rest. The Californian sun was shining through the glass etched doors that led to a personal balcony. Gabriella walked into the bedroom and gasped once more and the beautiful sight. The carpeting and furniture matched the ones in the other rooms. The bed looked as if it were fit for a queen (and king), with a beautiful silk bedspread and pillows upon pillows that matched. But none of this was what excited her the most. On the table that was in the middle of the room sat a beautiful bouquet of red roses. There was a card with them. Gabriella walked over to it and smelled the beautiful flowers. Then she took the card and opened it.

**To my beautiful wife and friend,**

**You are the blossom that makes me live life for,**

**You are the rose that blooms for me.**

**You are the fragrant smell that I love.**

**I love you!**

**Troy**

Tears of love started running down Gabriella's face. She turned around to see Troy leaning against the door frame, smiling. Gabriella ran into his arms. Troy chuckled in her hair.

"I think she likes them." He said as if someone was there. Gabriella pulled back and kissed him passionately. She pulled back and admired her handsome husband.

"Thank you. They're absolutely gorgeous." She said quietly. Troy stroked her cheek with his finger.

"Just like you." He said just as tenderly. Then he kissed her. And Gabriella was in heaven.

**(a/n: I'm finished! YEAH! so how did you guys like this story? thanks for reading it. it's what made me keep writing. i appreciate all your comments and suggestions...it really helped. i'm working on another story. and it will just be a romance one. i'm really excited about it. so i hope you read it. please read and review this one. thanks again)**


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